The Hartman Institute

The Hartman institute was founded by David Hartman (who taught my father Jewish philosophy in 7th grade in Montreal) in 1976 as

a place where Judaic studies scholars would address the critical contemporary challenges facing the Jewish people. More than three decades later, the Shalom Hartman Institute is an international force influencing global Jewry and broadening the horizons of Jewish thought and education.

As the Institute expanded in the early 1980s, they moved to the roomy confines of 28 Rachel Imeinu.

By 1982, when the Shalom Hartman Institute moved to larger premises at 28 Rahel Imeinu Street, it was a large organization with a full-time Beit Midrash, a broad roster of educational projects, and a research department that produced a wide variety of in-house publications. With its great range of activities, it was fast becoming a magnet for leading intellectuals and philosophers.

No one who we spoke to was able to tell us when the Hartman Institute left the building. Their new campus was opened in 1996, but we know that by then two other organizations had already inhabited the building.

We found a number of pictures of the building from this period. The fence outside the building was lower. The fence and window mullions were painted beige, and a sign for the Hartman Institute adorned one of gate's pillars. Plants with purple flowers grew along the fence.